Stories of the Scholars [2004 – 2010] Sh.’Ubayd al-Jaabiry

The great effort and striving of the scholars to benefit people is an affair not hidden, rather all who accompany the scholars recognise the compassion to their students and the people as a whole, desiring that they may benefit. Examples of this compassion are found even in the smallest of statements of the great scholars, the likes of Mohammad bin abdul-Wahhab رحمه الله تعالى, for indeed the one who studies and reads his books finds how often the Shaikh makes du’a for the readers and his students with statements such as “رحمك الله” throughout his books.

One example of this desire to benefit the students is from Shaikh ‘Ubayd al-Jaabiry حفظه الله تعالى in approximately 2005 when he was teaching Kitab at-Tawhid. The lesson was a weekly affair after the ‘Isha prayer at the Shaikh’s then local masjid [approximately 10 minutes by taxi from the Haram at that time]. Typically speaking the duration of any given lesson is between 50minutes – 1 hour 15minutes, hence the Shaikh would begin in the particular chapter we had reached that week, once completing it he would move onto the next chapter too – that was not of surprise since it was completely feasible to complete 2 chapters in just over an hour.

However on several occasions, from the desire of the Shaikh to maximise the benefit of the gathering, knowing the attendees were students who would be able to burden that, he would continue and finish 3 chapters of the book in one sitting, perhaps extending the lesson to the region of 1 hour 45minutes on some occasions. No individual would have questioned the Shaikh if he concluded the lesson after 2 chapters, however from his own desire to benefit the people he continued.

An individual who is young and in the prime of his strength would not consider that an issue, however in the context of the Shaikh, a man in his older age, to sit for that period of time late after ‘Isha in one place is sufficient in of itself, however to also be consistently talking for that period of time is not an affair of great ease.

It was certainly a practical lesson regarding the well-known aspect of the importance of patience in seeking knowledge, and persistence and diligence. Indeed the desire of the scholars to benefit, educate and nurture the people is great….the question that arises is: how many have the will-power, patience and desire to take that benefit?